News

Why doesn't the city council in Onalaska start its meetings with a prayer?

One city resident asked that question of a council member recently, and the councilman tried a prayer at the monthly meeting. Now, an Onalaska council committee is going to study the idea of having a prayer every month, which is opposed by the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Onalaska mayor Joe Chilsen is hearing evenly mixed reactions from the public. At La Crosse city council meetings, a member of the clergy is often invited to speak at the start of the evening.

(AP) La Crosse residents are being reminded of a local ordinance that prevents them from walking away while they warm up their cars. The city's ordinance prevents people from leaving unattended vehicles running. It applies to vehicles on the street or in other public places, and it carries a fine of $114.

Police Lt. Patrick Hogan says the ordinance is in place to protect people from car thieves. He says when vehicles are left unlocked with the key in the ignition, someone passing by who might not have thought about stealing a car might be tempted to take advantage of an easy opportunity.

Police say the ordinance doesn't apply to cars that use an electric starter because keys aren't left in the vehicle that way.

(AP) Wisconsin is one of a handful of states that hasn't implemented an active prescription drug monitoring program. Under a law passed in 2009, the state's 1,200 pharmacies and other dispensers of frequently abused prescription drugs had to start gathering data on each order filled starting Jan. 1. However, a database to collect the information isn't ready.

Greg Gasper, executive assistant with the Department of Safety and Professional Services, says the state is negotiating with the vendor and it's not clear when the database might be available.

According to the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws, at least 44 states have active prescription drug monitoring programs. The programs collect and store drug information so pharmacists, health care providers and others can better track abusers.

(AP) Former NFL linebacker George Koonce will join a panel of experts at Marquette University for a forum on sports related concussions. Koonce now works as a director of development at Marquette University and is a member of the NFL's Player Engagement Advisory Board.

Other panelists include a professor of neurosurgery and neurology at the Medical College of Wisconsin and an assistant athletic trainer at Marquette University. The five panelists altogether will discuss the long-term effects of concussion, the impact on a developing brain and what can be done to prevent one.

The forum, which is put together by the school's College of Sciences, will be Jan. 28 at Marquette's Alumni Memorial Union. It's called ``Concussion - Societal Impact of Sports-related Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.''

(AP) A federal appeals court has upheld Gov. Scott Walker's contentious law stripping most public workers of nearly all of their collective bargaining rights.

Seven public unions, including the teachers' union and the largest statewide public sector union, challenged the law's constitutionality in 2011. U.S. District Judge William Conley in March overturned part of the law requiring unions hold elections each year for members to retain their official status. The judge also said the law illegally halted the automatic withdrawal of union dues.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals released a decision on Friday that upheld the law in its entirety. The court said the law is constitutional.